Articles
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Transnistria: Tensions rise along the River Dniester
16 April 201321115 Nezavissimaïa Gazeta Moscow -
European Union: Cameron-Merkel, a courting couple
15 April 20138267 The Times London -
Czech Republic: The Sudetenland’s last Germans
15 April 201318638 Respekt Prague -
Romania: Incorruptible to the end
12 April 201318710 Revista 22 Bucharest -
Germany: Enter the anti-euro challengers
12 April 2013464328 Der Spiegel Hamburg -
Eurozone: Germany: Europe’s poor relation
11 April 2013681326 Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Frankfurt -
Biomass: Wood – Europe’s fuel of the future, really?
11 April 20137344 The Economist London -
France: François Hollande, a king in danger
10 April 201392530 Financial Times London -
Society: The day the middle class will rise up
10 April 2013325624 Wprost Warsaw -
United Kingdom: Iron Lady’s enduring legacy
9 April 20131829 The Independent London -
Media: British tabloids and their Euromyths
9 April 201381145 Mladá Fronta DNES Prague -
Portugal: Austerity may pave the way for true reforms
8 April 201333491 Jornal de Negócios Lisbon -
European Union: All citizens are equal (but some are more equal than others)
8 April 201326717 Dilema Veche Bucharest -
Immigration: UK’s head in the sand
5 April 201311157 The Daily Telegraph London -
Democracy: For a European Republic
5 April 20131256299 Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Frankfurt -
Offshore Leaks : Tax havens are killing our democracies
4 April 2013195640 Le Monde Paris -
Poland: Consigning waste to the scrapheap
4 April 20131469 Polityka Warsaw -
Institutions: Caught in a democratic tangle
3 April 201317421 Trouw Amsterdam -
Pensions: A new life for your old age
3 April 201313812 Respekt Prague -
Diplomacy: Berlin’s new activism
2 April 2013349141 Le Monde Paris -
Democracy: Making laws ain’t easy
2 April 201318712 Dilema Veche Bucharest -
Spain: Hands off my house!
1 April 2013104531 Libération Paris -
Hungary: Budapest, the cultural wasteground
29 March 2013212628 Der Freitag Berlin -
Television: A newscasting Tower of Babel
29 March 201320722 La Croix Paris -
Eurozone crisis: Time to abolish the tax havens
28 March 2013929115 El País Madrid -
EU-Russia: Brussels’ Cyprus slip-up
28 March 20131657 Lidové noviny Prague -
Croatia: At the end of the EU obstacle course
27 March 201322312 Jutarnji List Zagreb -
United Kingdom: Cypriot lessons in courting the Russian Bear
27 March 20131404 The Guardian London -
Debate: The “Latin Empire” should strike back
26 March 20133100491 Libération Paris -
Baltic: Chemical threat lurking beneath the sea
26 March 201380213 Uważam Rze Warsaw -
Cyprus: “This is the start of the Road to Calvary”
25 March 201315072 O Phileleftheros Nicosia -
European Union: Politics turns back to the Athens agora
25 March 201334590 La Repubblica Rome -
Cyprus: The Russian saviour is taking his time
22 March 201314789 Nezavissimaïa Gazeta Moscow -
Iceland: Journey to Iceland’s cultural miracle
22 March 20131488426 El País Madrid -
Cyprus: The other guy’s always to blame
21 March 2013301128 Frankfurter Rundschau Frankfurt -
European Union: How Europe’s leaders ran out of credit in Cyprus
21 March 201325220 Financial Times London -
Cyprus: Do your homework, Mr Schäuble!
20 March 201343347 O Phileleftheros Nicosia -
Italy: Beppe Grillo prepares to storm Europe
20 March 201329345 Il Fatto Quotidiano Rome -
Cyprus: We are not Europe’s fools
19 March 201340634 O Phileleftheros Nicosia -
Cyprus: The crisis? Merkel’s fault, of course!
19 March 2013813139 El Mundo Madrid -
Portrait: Andreas Georgiou learns the unwritten rules of Greek statistics
18 March 201311415 NRC Handelsblad Amsterdam -
Eurozone crisis: Byzantine lessons for Europe
18 March 201398944 The Guardian London -
Cyprus: A rescue plan that will kill us
18 March 2013416143 Cyprus Mail Nicosia -
European institutions: Grand ideas and empty jargon
15 March 201318525 Revue Politika Brno -
Diplomacy: Stupidity and stinginess in Mali
14 March 201317970 Le Monde Paris -
European Parliament: Change looms ahead of 2014
14 March 201312436 Hufvudstadsbladet Helsinki -
European Parliament: A loaded chamber
13 March 20138816 Financial Times London -
Czech Republic: A playground for ‘hacktivists’
13 March 2013714 Respekt Prague -
Hungary: The opposition struggles in vain
12 March 2013342 Magyar Nemzet Budapest -
Emigration: On the road to Mozambique
12 March 20133901 Jornal de Negócios Lisbon
Moldova is preparing to install check points at the border with its breakaway republic of Transnistria, while Russia and the Ukraine hope to speed up negotiations on settling this 20-year-old conflict. The European Union may find itself dragged into a diplomatic standoff.
As David Cameron’s recent visit shows, a growing band of people in Germany support the British PM’s tough approach to the EU. Ahead of Germany’s September election, Chancellor Angela Merkel looks quite tempted to align herself with Britain’s open market ideas, rather than those of protectionist France.
Despite many Sudeten Germans being forced to leave at the end of the Second World War, a small German community survives in country's west. As their culture slowly disappears, those who remain look back at the decades of coexistence with the Czechs.
Rather than accept an honorary position, the former head of the anti-corruption office quit and is now denouncing politicians' meddling in the appointment of Romania’s judges – a practice that is slowing the country's entry into the Schengen area.
The "Alternative for Germany" party, which will be officially launched on April 14, aims to take the federal republic out of the euro. Although its founders lack a well-defined roadmap, they could still bother Angela Merkel in September's general elections.
According to the ECB, the Germans did not take advantage of the crisis and are even poorer now than other Europeans. For the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, this is proof that they should not pay for the mistakes of others, and they need to better allocate their wealth.
In order to produce energy without further increasing CO2 emissions, what could be easier than using existing furnaces to burn trees that could be replaced as they are used? Although this idea has much financial backing, it is only efficient over the long term.
French leader may come to be seen as the victim of a revolt against modern elites, says Dominique Moïsi.
When the middle classes revolt, our political leaders will realise that they have been sitting on a powder keg, warns Polish philosopher Marcin Król. In the absence of any prospect of social advancement, they may choose revolution as a last resort to make themselves heard.
From crushing Britain’s trades unions to defeating the Argentine military in the Falkland Islands, Margaret Thatcher’s 11-year reign triggered seismic changes in the economic and political landscape of the country. Her long-lasting legacy will continue to be debated.
The EU has ruled on the curves of cucumbers, forbidden hairdressers from wearing heels, and even financed a porn film. These urban legends about decisions taken in Brussels are as endless as they are false. And they all get the kiss of life in the same place: the British tabloids.
The Portuguese Constitutional Court's rejection of some proposed austerity measures is the latest setback for Portugal's government. However, this is an opportunity truly to reform the state and end the current impasse, believes a Portuguese newspaper editor.
European Union treaties guarantee the rights of citizens but in practice consumer rights seem to take precedence over more fundamental EU rights.
The anticipated wave of Bulgarian and Romanian immigration in 2014 will not be as high as previously thought, according to a new government report. But that is no reason to ignore the consequences for urbanism and social services, writes the conservative Daily Telegraph.
Whether political leaders or citizens, the pragmatics have failed to build a prosperous and wholly democratic EU. Now it’s the turn of the dreamers. Today, they are the true realists, write political scientist Ulrike Guérot and writer Robert Menasse.
A major investigation of leaked data undertaken by several newspapers including Le Monde has highlighted the vast international scale of offshore banking. For the French daily’s editorial director, it should be viewed as a warning that our political systems are under threat.
Eager consumers and producers of enormous quantities of waste, Poles are coming under pressure from the EU and will soon convert to a new approach to packaging – the religion of "re": reduction, recycling and reuse.
It is often said that the measures taken against the crisis in the EU are opaque and undemocratic. But it is the result of processes accepted by all. It is these processes which must be debated, argues a Dutch academic.
Enjoying your retirement under a tropical sun on the other side of the world is no longer the preserve only of western Europe’s wealthy elite. Increasing numbers of Czech pensioners are abandoning their homeland in order to “wipe out the winter."
Germany is taking advantage of its robust economic health to firm up its presence on the international stage. However, trade is the engine of a diplomacy that still fears embracing military interventions, a stance which remains popular with the German public.
The European Citizens’ Initiative process, launched in 2011, aims to reflect grassroots political aspirations. If they collect one million signatures, committees of European citizens can instigate changes to EU policies. But Dilema Veche wonders if they will make the right choices.
Publicly denouncing politicians who refuse to revise the law on mortgages, Spaniards lobbying against the soaring number of home evictions have adopted a technique used to put pressure on the Argentine military, nicknamed "the unmasking".
A once thriving creative and cultural scene is now dominated by Hungarian nationalist values defended by the government, warns a Hungarian journalist who has now left the country to live in Germany.
Founded in 1993, European news channel, Euronews, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. With 400 journalists from some 30 countries broadcasting in a dozen languages, the channel has managed to develop an image that appeals to a broad audience, from German businessmen to Egyptian protesters.
The news has been confirmed: after more than 10 years of negotiations, the Croats are set to join the EU on July 1. Convinced that they had been burned by previous enlargements, the EU’s 27 members were even more strict with Zagreb than they were with other countries which recently joined the Union.
Cyprus is not the only island nation to roll out the red carpet for Russia’s riches. Since the Soviet Union’s collapse, London has welcomed Russian expatriates who made their fortunes plundering the collapsing state, but at what cost, asks a British journalist.
Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben has revived the idea of a union of Southern European countries, a proposal first launched by another philosopher, Alexandre Kojève, just after World War II. This "Latin Empire" could act as a counter weight to the dominant role played by Germany in the European Union.
Thousands of tonnes of chemical weapons sunk in the Baltic Sea after WWII pose a lethal hazard to humans and the environment. After 70 years at the bottom of the sea, the corroded containers risk leaking deadly poisons, warns a Polish journalist.
In an open letter to his compatriots, a Cypriot scientist calls on the citizens of the island to show patriotism, and to roll up their sleeves for an independent initiative to save their banking system, so that they can turn the page as quickly as possible on the aid plan negotiated on 25 March in Brussels.
The institutional and European democratic crises are pushing leaders towards tricky choices in terms of governability. Would it not perhaps be better to move toward new forms of participation that better match citizens' needs?
Russia, despite owning a large chunk of the cash deposited in the island’s banks, is resisting the increasingly desperate pleas for aid from the Cypriot government. Instead of rushing in, the Great Bear is sitting back and awaiting the Europeans’ next move.
Iceland escaped the grip of austerity and has turned Icelandic culture into the country’s second largest contributor to GDP, with an impact of around €1bn per year. Unemployment is at 5.7 per cent, growth at 3 per cent – and the island is alive to the sound of music and movie shoots.
Greedy banks, the EU or Angela Merkel: The search for the culprit in Cyprus is running along the usual fault lines of the euro crisis. But do individuals not share in the responsibility for the mistakes of their society? That would mean the Cypriots would have to give up some of their savings deposits.
The bigger problem remains the gap in trust between the north and the south, writes a Financial Times columnist.
After the failure of the EU's €10bn Cyprus rescue plan, the German Minister of Finance has questioned the island’s low tax regime. However, a well known journalist argues that following the 1974 Turkish invasion, Nicosia had no option but to offer tax breaks.
The comedian's Five star movement was the revelation of last Italian election. Its anti-establishment views and "digital democracy" methods are shared by many political movements across the EU, and they could form a common front at the European elections in 2014.
After three days of protest, the government of Cyprus decided to tax only bank accounts above €20,000. But wanting to tax all accounts to pay for the international bailout plan, showed that, for Europe, the people of Cyprus do not count, complains a leader writer.
The aid plan launched by the Eurogroup in return for a tax levied on Cyprian bank deposits has provoked violent reactions. Germany is often accused of wanting to punish a struggling country. However, it’s not the Chancellor who is to blame for the mistakes of the island, writes an economist.
Greek statistics are now finally reliable, even according to Eurostat. However, the man largely responsible for a shake-up of working practices in the country is now facing charges of treason.
From managing a single currency, to ending a recession and negotiating political and fiscal unions among a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic commonwealth, Byzantium’s leaders handled the lot. The EU’s politicians could learn much from their ancient forebears, argues a UK historian.
The EU and IMF have agreed a €10bn bailout of Cypriot banks, but the price to provide rescue funds is a tax on all deposits. This condition has stunned the tiny Mediterranean nation, with the Cyprus Mail accusing the new President and other member states of betraying the island.
Each year the EU produces thousands of pages of reports, speeches and legislation designed to move the European project forward. They have one thing in common: a pompous language worthy of a regime lost in its own dogma, writes a Czech political scientist in Revue Politika.
Despite what its European partners say in public, France is alone in fighting the armed Islamists and helping rebuild the Malian state. The EU's inability to agree on major global issues will cost it dearly one day, argues Le Monde.
The European elections slated for 2014 will be a departure from the past procedure, and that has awoken high hopes among the public. The most crucial aspiration among Europe's citizens is the fostering of a true trans-national debate.
The EU parliament’s capping of bank bonuses shows it has matured as a political force.
The Czech Republic was targeted in a string of cyber attacks last week. Why? As a small country with a relatively developed Internet infrastructure, it is an ideal testing ground for hackers who are planning to hunt for bigger prey, says an Internet expert.
The Hungarian parliament's reform of the country's constitution was decried by the opposition and sparked controversy within the EU. However, for one pro-government newspaper, the protests were nothing more than a rear-guard action by an opposition without legitimacy.
Settling in Mozambique is increasingly attractive to a growing number of Portuguese who are suffering from the crisis. Less threatening than Angola, Mozambique has raised expectations among a people confused by events – even if some of them are coming back empty-handed.